


Contrast

by agrove



Series: Contrast [1]
Category: Ten Inch Hero
Genre: Abuse, Beach City Grill, Dark Past, Drugs, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, addict
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-06
Updated: 2016-08-06
Packaged: 2018-07-29 18:39:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 18,934
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7695133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agrove/pseuds/agrove
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When the girls find a broken and battered Priestly they learn the true meaning of friendship and family, and secrets are revealed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Jen, Tish, and Piper sat in various positions, lounging in the Beach City Grill talking about, of course, boys.

"He's just so…so (sigh)amazing" Tish said with a dreamy smile covering her sun kissed face. She was of course speaking about Tadd. They had met in the shop and after a couple weeks she was convinced she was in love. Or lust…who cares?

"So we've heard" Jen replied from behind her computer. She was typing away with a small smile on her face. Fuzzy22 always made her smile.

"Yes, we've all heard about how amazing Tadd is", Trucker said jokingly as he appeared out of the back room. "I'll be back soon girls, I've got to pick up a few things". The girls waved as Trucker disappeared out the front door.

Piper just laughed. Things were going well at the grill; Jen had Fuzzy (even if they had never met face to face), Tish had Tadd (the most…like…amazing guy ever), Trucker had Zo (or would soon it seemed based on her recent frequent lunch visits) and she had Noah and Julia. Life was good for everyone it seemed. Her mind wandered as she thought of Noah before she snapped herself back to attention. Her mood darkened a bit as she realized she had almost forgotten someone, Priestly. Did Priestly have anyone? It would seem the answer was no as he had never said anything. She thought about her colorful friend for a few minutes before she came to the realization that he was not there, even though it was already getting late.

"Guys, has anyone seen Priestly today?"

Tish rolled her eyes, "No, he's late as usual".

Jen nervously bit her lip, "Ya, but he's never this late". The three girls glanced at the clock hanging on the wall, all starting to feel a bubble of nervousness forming in their guts.

Tish spoke first, "Your right, he's like a half hour late, is his car here? Maybe he went with Trucker."

Jen and Piper shrugged before Tish spoke again, "Well lets go see, it's not like anythings happening out here".

Tish hopped off the counter as Jen logged off the computer and stood before following Piper to the back of the restaurant. When they opened the back door and stepped out into the late morning sun they saw something they wish they never had.


	2. Chapter 2

Jen, Tish, and Piper stood in horrified silence as they watched a man in a hoodie deliver a vicious kick to Priestly's ribs. The man was standing over a battered Priestly, who was in the fetal position on the oil stained pavement trying his best to stay coherent enough to protect his head and his organs. The hooded figure kicked the mohawked man in the ribs again, over and over, as Priestly grunted from the pain. Blood was pouring out of a gash over his eyebrow and his nose. His body was clenched into as small of a ball as possible, trying to protect himself.

Please God help me, Priestly thought as he felt another blow to his midsection. It felt like this punishment would never end. If he had known this is how today was going to go he would have stayed in bed. He could feel blood over his face but was in so much pain he had no idea where it was coming from.

"HEY! HEY! Stop that!" came a shout from behind him. He didn't dare lift his head, for fear of another kick to the face.

The girls had finally popped out of the horror that had frozen them moments before. Tish began running forward shouting, knowing that she had to stop this. As soon as she shouted the hooded figure turned and quickly sprinted away. All three girls ran to Priestly, trying to see if he was even remotely ok.

"Priestly? Can you hear me?" came a frantic voice from above him. He felt his head being lifted into a soft lap before a gentle hand stroked the side of his head.

"T…Ti..Tish?" Priestly gasped, the pain in his ribs unbearable. He was having trouble forming thoughts but knew that the danger was gone. He tried to relax into her embrace but found that he was unable to move without causing more pain to himself.

Everyone looked up when they heard an engine approaching and sighed in relief as they saw Trucker arriving in the cause-mobile.

Trucked jumped from the vehicle before the tires had even stopped moving. "What happened, who's hurt?"

Jen released the hand that had been covering her mouth and covering her almost silent sobs to reply, "Priestly, we're…we're fine. We came out to see if he was here and there was this man kicking him. He just kept kicking him over, and over…" she broke off with a loud sob. Piper grabbed her into a hug as silent tears ran down her face.

Tish was still gently rubbing Priestly's head trying to stay somewhat calm, even though she had never been more scared in her life. "We need to help him. Trucker help him!"

Trucker knelt beside Priestly, trying to assess his wounds. He could see a large bruise forming over his right eye, which had a gash right above it. His nose was bleeding badly, but what really concerned him was the fact that Priestly was still clutching his midsection. Internal bleeding jumped to the front of his mind along with broken ribs.

Priestly suddenly broke out in a coughing fit, which in turned made his ribs hurt even worse. He groaned loudly, slamming his eyelids shut.

Trucker pulled out his cell phone, "I'm calling 911 Priestly, help will be here soon".

"NO!" came the immediate reply from the injured man. "No, please. No hospital. No calls."

"Kid, your injured, badly. I need to call an ambulance."

Priestly opened his eyes and gave Trucker a pleading look, "Please Truck, you can't call anybody…please".

Trucker pursed his lips together looking at the young man before a quiet, "Ok" came out. Priestly looked so scared when he mentioned the ambulance, and his eyes looked so frantic that Trucker couldn't argue with him. "Girls, lock up the grill and go up to my apartment. Get the bed ready, first door on the left. I'll need a first aid kit, towels, and warm water."

The girls took one more look at the broken man before running inside, doing as told.

Trucker looked at the young man in front of him. His heart broke seeing one of his closest friends broken and bleeding on the pavement. His clothes and hair, which normally would have stood out in bright contrast with the surroundings were covered in blood and dirt, dulling them. It was like a tragic joke. Trucker sighed before moving forward, "This is going to hurt Priestly, a lot. I'm going to bring you up to my apartment ok?"

Priestly nodded jerkily, Truckers words barely registering in his pain blurred mind. When he felt two hands reach under him and lift he let out a scream of pain. It felt as though his whole body was on fire, he couldn't breath, his back arched involuntarily, his fists clenched and just as he started to turn blue from holding his breath his vision suddenly darkened and blissful oblivion met him.

Trucker sighed in relief when he saw that Priestly had passed out. He didn't want him to hurt anymore than he already was. He gently finished lifting the young man and slowly made his way to inside.

As he reached the door, it flew open to reveal three sets of worried eyes.

"We heard a scream, what happened?" tumbled out of Jen's mouth.

"When I picked him up it jarred him a bit, he's out for the time being." The girls stood to the side to allow Trucker room to walk in and place Priestly in his guest bed. They followed him into the room. Trucker let out a deep breath when he laid him down. He was heavier than Trucker had imagined.

"Ok girls, I need to assess his injuries while he's still unconscious. If you're faint at heart, you should leave now." The three girls boldly stood their ground, silently offering their help and support. Trucker nodded at them before turning back to Priestly. He reached into the bucket of water for the washcloth that the girls had placed on the bedside table. He gently rubbed away the blood on his face revealing various abrasions, thankfully none needing more medical attention than he could give. He then lifted Priestly's head, and examined it for any lacerations, thankfully finding none. Turning to the dresser he picked up the scissors and began cutting Priestley's shirt away, when he finished he looked like he was going to be sick.

Tish covered her mouth when a gasp escaped her, her eyes glued to her friend's torso. Covering almost his entire chest and midsection was a blue, almost black bruise. It went from right under his collarbone all the way to his hip bone. She watched as Trucker felt his ribs, grimacing when he found a few cracked. She couldn't take anymore of this; she quickly walked out of the room, collapsed at the kitchen table and began to sob.

A short time later Trucker came out followed by Jen and Piper. They all sat at the small table as sunlight streamed through the windows, almost mocking them with it's brightness on this dark day.

"I've done everything I can, we'll have to see what he says when he wakes up" Trucker said to Tish's questioning look.


	3. Chapter 3

Pain, so much pain. It hurt to breath. It hurt everywhere. An involuntary groan escaped his split lip as his eyed fluttered open. He looked around not really seeing anything with his blurred vision.

"Priestly, can you hear me?" came a voice he recognized as Piper's from his right.

"What…what happened? Where am I?" His arm flew to his chest as he spoke, the pain exploding with every breath.

"Try not to speak ok? You have some cracked ribs. Just nod if you understand." She was met with a small nod.

"Here, take these pain pills. I'm going to get the others." She handed him two small white pills with a small glass of water before disappearing out the door.

After swallowing the pills he tried to remember what happened. He remembered driving, and then a man, then unbearable pain. He looked to the door when we heard footsteps and saw Trucker, Jen, Tish, and Piper enter. The girls' eyes looked red and puffy but he couldn't ask them what was wrong. Trucker sat in the chair beside the bed and spoke softly to Priestly.

"Hey Priestly, did you take the pain pills?" He was met with a nod. "Good, those should help for a while. Do you remember what happened?" Another nod and a pained expression. "You're at my house, against my better judgment I brought you here instead of the hospital. I still think you should go though, and we need to file a police report". Priestly's eyes grew wide and frantic before shaking his head back and forth. "Priestly, why not?"

Priestly looked as if he wanted to run but was unable to. He looked from face to face, before swallowing thickly, "I can't tell you, just please don't". Trucker nodded, his head down, "You realize we're going to have to talk about all this right? The attack and your reluctance to call anyone."

Priestly nodded looking away from his friends, his family. He suddenly felt very foggy and his eyes began to close on their own accord. Within a few minutes he was fast asleep.

Seeing him fall back asleep, everyone realized that the pain pills had kicked in. They all had the same thoughts running through their heads. Who had attacked Priestly, and why? Why didn't he want to call anyone? Why did he seem afraid when they spoke about it?


	4. Chapter 4

As the early morning sun broke the horizon Trucker looked up from his paper when he heard a soft knock on the door. Rising slowly he rolled his neck and arched his back, trying to relieve the tiredness and stress he felt. Last night had been challenging, with Priestly waking when the pain pills faded and moaning in his sleep. Trucker hadn't wanted to leave him alone, fearing he wouldn't hear Priestly if he needed him so he had slept on a chair in the corner of the room. As he reached the door and opened it he was surprised at who was on the other side.

A very tired and slightly disheveled looking Tish smiled and held up a fast food bag, "I brought breakfast".

Trucker smiled warmly and moved to the side, extending a silent invitation to come in. Tish strode in and sat down at the small kitchen table emptying the contents of the bag onto the hard surface. Trucker closed his door and sat down across from Tish and reached for a wrapped sandwich.

"Is he awake?" Tish asked softly, not wanting to wake Priestly if he was still asleep.

"No, not yet. He'll have to eat at some point though, so I'm assuming he'll wake soon."

Tish nodded slowly, deep in thought. She had been thinking a lot since yesterday. She had always viewed the sub shop group as her friends, never just coworkers. Trucker was always looking out for them, and Piper and Jen were the best girlfriends ever. Priestly on the other hand… Of course he was a friend but it felt like there was always something else, just below the surface but never recognized. Not wanting to delve too deep this early in the morning she gave herself a mental shake.

"I'm going to go check on him" she stated, turning quickly and disappearing down the hall. She didn't see the small knowing smile Trucker gave her.

As she reached the doorframe she stopped and took a deep steadying breath, mentally preparing herself for what she might see. After gathering herself she gently padded into the room and let her gaze fall upon the softly snoring Priestly. He looked better today in some aspects, and worse in others. His face, by some miracle was not swollen but his torso was a rainbow of painful colors. She grimaced as she listened to his short breaths, realizing even in sleep he felt pain. She grabbed the chair from the corner and quietly placed it near the bed before slowly sinking into it. It wasn't often she could sit in silence with Priestly; as a matter of fact she didn't think she ever had. He was always talking, singing, or joking; it was strange to see him so still and quiet. Not wanting to waste this opportunity she let herself look at Priestly, really look at him. She started at the top of his head with his brightly colored hair that was in slight disarray from the long night. She smiled to herself as she thought about all the different colors and styles he had shown up with over time. Before she even realized what she was doing her hand was snaking its way through his bright red strands. She jerked her hand back when awareness hit her and chastised herself. Her eyes continued drifting lower taking in his long lashes and full lips, his strong jaw and…woah… muscular torso. Where did that come from? She had always thought he was just lean, but he was built. She couldn't believe she had never noticed it but underneath all the loud clothing, tattoos and piercings; Priestly was a beautiful man.

What am I doing? What am I thinking! I have Tadd, and this is Priestly we're talking about here. Beautiful, sweet, funny Priestly…

A groan brought her back to reality as she saw his eyes blearily open with slow blinks. Have his eyes always been that green?

"Tish? What are you doing here, where's Truck?"

Tish noticed his speech was still slightly halted from his damaged ribs but he was speaking much better than yesterday.

"In the kitchen, you need anything? Breakfast, pills, anything?"

Priestly's eyes had lit up at the mention of food, and Tish smothered a smile as he replied, "Breakfast would be awesome!"

Tish rose and disappeared out of the room leaving Priestly alone. He laid still for a few minutes trying to get his bearings. He mentally took in his injuries trying to determine what hurt least to most, it didn't take long to realize his ribs were definitely the worst. Grunting with strain he propped himself up against the headboard and reached over for the Tylenol and water. He didn't want the strong pain killers, they made him groggy. As he swallowed the small pills he heard Tish's voice carry from the kitchen. To say he had been surprised to see her when he opened his eyes would be a gross understatement. He was shocked, but also very pleased. Even though he would never say it out loud, he was smitten with Tish. In his eyes she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, yes she was a little bit of a bitch, and a little promiscuous, but that was just her and underneath all that was a kind, wonderful person. He lightly sighed not wanting to go along that train of thoughts and waited for Tish to bring him breakfast.

"Here ya go!" she happily stated before handing him a breakfast sandwich, which he immediately started eating.

His eyes closed and a content smile played on his lips as he finished the sandwich and licked the remnants off his fingers. "God I was hungry".

"I see that, did you even taste it?" was the amused reply.

He smiled sheepishly, "Heh…ya I tasted it".

They sat in a comfortable silence both lost in their own thoughts when Trucker came into the room. "Feeling any better?"

"Ya, I'm not great but good, considering."

"Good, well I just wanted to let you two know that Piper and Jen are on there way over. They wanted to check on you before they open the shop".

He grinned, "Sounds good, I love seeing all my ladies in the morning". Trucker laughed and exited the room awaiting the arrival of the two girls. Tish rolled her eyes at his reply, stood and followed Trucker.

A short while later Priestly heard a knock, announcing the arrival of Piper and Jen. He smiled to himself, humbled by how much everyone cared about him. If someone had told him a few years ago that he would have not one or two, but four people that cared deeply about him he would have laughed in their face, but now… He frowned as his thoughts turned dark, thinking about past events that were best left alone.

"Knock knock, how's our injured chameleon today?"

Priestly softly laughed at Jen's words, "Not bad, feeling more like a kicked puppy though."

Piper grimaced, "Ya, I bet".

After everyone was up to date on Priestly's health Trucker clapped his hands together, "Well now that everyone's here, I think we need to talk about yesterday".

Everyone silently agreed and looked to their injured friend to start talking. Priestly's eyes widened and his breaths started coming in short bursts, "What? No, I mean…" he stuttered. "It's not important, it's over. Can't live in the past right. Just move on. Yup" he rambled as sweat broke on his brow.

Not expecting that reaction everyone frowned before looking to Trucker for something to say. "Priestly, I'm sorry but we need to talk about it. We trusted you yesterday when you said no to the hospital, now you have to trust us and let us know what's going on".

Wide green eyes met his as he heard a broken, "Please…"

Trucker nervously licked his lips, "No Priestly, don't make me the enemy. We're your friends, we won't judge".

Priestly slowly looked from each person, meeting their nervous gazes before landing on Tish. He held her gaze before he finally looked down at his clasped hands. He swallowed thickly. This is it, he thought before he opened his now dry mouth and began to speak.


	5. Chapter 5

This is it, he thought before he opened his now dry mouth and began to speak.

"What exactly do you want to know?" he whispered softly.

"Let's start with why we couldn't call an ambulance" was Trucker's soft reply.

Priestly's eyes drifted up to the ceiling, silently trying to gain strength from anywhere he could. He clasped his hands in his lap and stared at a small frayed thread in the blanket covering his legs. Even though he was six feet tall and a buck eighty, he felt about 6 inches tall sitting in the small single bed.

"You couldn't call the ambulance because they would call the police to file a report."

Seeing that they were going to have to be the ones that moved the story along Jen spoke up, "and what's wrong with that?"

"I'm…I'm…wanted."

Tish couldn't help herself as she snorted before sarcastically asking, "like dead or alive?"

"Pretty much."

The silence was deafening. Tish's smile had vanished in an instant and was replaced by an apprehensive, worried expression along with everyone else's. Everyone's minds raced trying to picture Priestly doing anything illegal, but the thought alone was preposterous.

Trucker recovered first, "Priestly, I know this must be hard for you to talk about but you need to tell us everything."

He blew out a small breath, "I know, I know." He felt sick to his stomach; he couldn't believe he was going to tell these people, his friends…his family about his past. They were going to hate him, leave him. He was going to be alone. He quickly caught himself before panic set in and started speaking.

"My mom died when I was eleven, hit by a drunk driver on her way to pick me up from school. She…she was awesome; beautiful and kind and loving, the exact opposite of my dad. Mom always kept him in check but after she was gone and it was just us, things got bad…fast."

Priestly paused and nervously wet his lips before continuing.

"I tried to avoid the house as much as possible but I didn't have a lot of friends so I always ended up home sooner than I wanted. It was a month before my 12th birthday when he first hit me. I had dropped something, and he had of course been drinking and his fist just came out of nowhere. Said I was a freak, that was his word he always used…freak, said that it was my fault mom died. After that it just got worse and worse, slaps turned to punches, punches to kicks, kicks to… Anyway that pretty much sums up everything until I turned 16. Soon as I got my license, I boosted a car and I left. I drove as far and as fast as I could," he laughed bitterly "and I actually thought I got away from him."

He was silent, lost in his memories before realizing there where other people in the room waiting for him to continue his horrid tale. His hands broke apart and he started fiddling with the loose thread he had been staring at.

"He found me 3 years later. I had been living on my own, I was 19, life was going well for the first time since mom died. I got off work one night and when I went home he was there waiting for me. I couldn't even comprehend what was happening to me it was so fast. He beat the shit out of me and then just left, told me no matter where I went he would find me. I laid on the floor in my apartment for two days before I could finally get to the phone to call 911. It took a long time to recover from that," he flexed his right hand repeatedly "hand still doesn't work right."

He sat silently, suddenly feeling exhausted. Priestly didn't meet anyone's eyes, he didn't want to see their pity, he didn't deserve or want it. He jumped slightly when a soft hand landed on top of his and squeezed gently, he reluctantly met Tish's gaze. Her eyes were red rimmed and glassy, and she offered a small smile, silently offering Priestly strength. He stared at her for a moment before breaking the contact. He knew she wouldn't want to touch him after he finished his story.

"After that I ran…again but the uh, incident really messed me up. I started drinking and smoking, and it wasn't long before beer turned into whisky and smoking cigarettes turned into snorting crack. I couldn't hold a job because I was too messed up which meant I had no money to live. I started pick pocketing and hustling pool to survive. It, it was bad. That went on for four years, and then he found me again. I was in an alleyway behind some dive just wiped when he came around the corner. It took me a few minutes to even realize who he was I was so blitzed. He kicked me, told me I was worthless, said he was going to take care of the problem once and for all and a part of me wanted him to, I was ready to lay down and die, then he called me a freak…and I snapped. I couldn't take it anymore, it was like everything hit me at once; mom's death, dad's drinking, the beatings, just everything. Next thing I knew I was on top of him. I punched him and I just kept punching him, it was like I wasn't even in control anymore."

Everyone else in the room knew Priestly wasn't there anymore; his mind was in the past reliving horrible events. His hands were shaking uncontrollably, and a thin sheen of sweat could be seen on his brow. His eyes were wide and unseeing, and his right eye kept twitching every so often.

"When I finally realized what I was doing, he…he was dead."

"I killed my dad" he whispered, tears running down his face.

He heard strangled gasps from the others in the room. He knew how disgusted they must feel, how betrayed they must feel. Just wanting to get this whole ordeal over with he plowed on.

"Somebody had called the cops, and when they got there I was just sitting there, next to my dad. They arrested me, booked me, charged me with everything they could; the worst was voluntary manslaughter. Since it was my first offense, in the eyes of the law, they set a bail and a bondsman posted it the next day. As soon as I got out I ran. I ran here, got my shit together, changed my appearance, and applied for a job. Rest is history."

He kept his stare on the blanket in front of him, trying to steady his heart, which felt like it was going to explode out of his chest.

"I, uh, know I don't deserve to ask this but if you could wait to call the cops I would really appreciate it. You'll never have to see me again, just give me a days head start."

The room was silent before Trucker finally spoke, "Priestly, give us a minute ok?"

He stood and walked out of the room, followed by all the girls, and as they walked into the kitchen, a piece of Priestly went with them.

Even though he should have expected it, it still broke his heart. These were the only people besides his mom that had ever cared about him, and now they were gone. They were going to call the police and Priestly was going to prison. Everything he had tried to keep hidden, everything he had tried to move on from had come back to bite him. He curled his legs up to his bruised chest and clenched his hair in his fists. He gritted his teeth as a sob escaped him. He wanted to run, even contemplated climbing out the second story window but his body wouldn't cooperate. He started shaking his head back and forth and mumbling 'no' to himself over and over, trying to will away the last 24 hours.

Meanwhile in the kitchen…

Trucker blew out a breath and rubbed his forehead. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. Priestly, his good friend, had been beaten relentlessly for years, had hit the lowest rock bottom, and ended up killing his own father while under the influence. It was like a bad dream he wanted to wake up from. He looked at Jen, Piper, and Tish who all seemed to be thinking the same thoughts.

Piper's voice broke through the heavy air, "I can't believe Priestly had to go through all that. I can't even imagine…"

"Me either" replied Jen, "I can't even picture him doing drugs, stealing cars, or anything he said. I mean, this is Priestly we're talking about. I don't think I've ever even heard him yell at someone."

"Just to be clear here, we're not calling the cops right?" Tish interrupted with a surprisingly strong voice for someone who had been crying for the last half hour.

Jen and Piper looked to Trucker for the answer, "Girls, he murdered someone. He beat them to death, and it wasn't just because of the drugs. He was on heavy drugs, and was an alcoholic, and if my math is right, that was only about a year ago." He paused before finishing, "But if anyone knows about second chances it's me, and Priestly deserves a second chance. "

The girls all sighed in relief, before Tish's head snapped up.

"Did you hear that?"

Everyone looked at each other quizzically, "What?"

Tish rose and darted for Priestly's room when she realized it was a choked sob. Her mind raced when she realized what they had done. Priestly had poured his heart out to them, and then expected them to call the cops, to abandon him. Then, on top of that they had left the room, confirming his fears. Priestly must have thought they hated him. Her heart broke as she entered the room. Priestly was balled up, fists pulling his red hair and he was crying. Without even thinking about it she ran over and hugged him, mindful of his bruised torso. Priestly gasped at the contact and tried to move away but Tish held strong.

"What are you doing? Don't you hate me? I'm a murderer."

Tish moved to face him and gently grabbed his face with both her hands, wiping away his tears with her thumbs, "I could never hate you Priestly, never."

"None of us could" said Trucker as he walked in, Jen and Piper in tow.

"But why? I'm a horrible person. I killed someone, I stole cars, I did drugs. I don't understand why any of you care about me. How can anybody care about me?" he finished in a small voice.

Everyone suddenly realized that they were finally seeing the real Priestly. Underneath his loud exterior was a broken, insecure little boy. The person in front of them wasn't an eccentric, laid back guy, the person in front of them was a scared, and vulnerable child that was forced to grow up too fast and in the end was just a victim of a cruel, hard life. Trucker knelt down beside Priestly and patiently waited until he looked him in the eyes. "You're not worthless Priestly. You deserve happiness, and for people to care about you. Don't let who you were define who you are. Did you kill your father on purpose?"

"No"

"Are you still doing drugs?"

"No, clean and sober for 13 months"

"Are you still doing anything illegal?"

"No"

"Then it's in your past and lets keep it that way. You've been to a place few people have Priestly, true rock bottom. The fact that you not only survived but fully recovered from that is a testament to how amazing you really are. I'm proud to call you my friend."

"Thanks Truck. So uh, just to be clear, does this mean you didn't call the cops?"

Jen smiled and rubbed his head affectionately, "No cops Priestly".

"Well I think that's a good stopping point for right now, but we still need to talk bout the attack. Plus you two need to open the shop" Trucker said, pointing to Jen and Piper. "Seeing as I have a house guest, I need to get some more food. Tish, you mind watching him?"

"Truck you don't need to feed me, I'm fine" he said before adding, in a slightly disgruntled tone, "I also don't need a babysitter, I'm 24 I think I can survive."

Trucker ignored him and looked expectantly at Tish, "Ya, of course"

"Ok, see you two later," and with a parting wink Trucker left.

The room suddenly seemed too small, and much to quiet. Trying to think of something to say to break the suffocating silence, Priestly suddenly yawned.

Tish smiled softly at Priestly's large yawn, "Are you tired? I'll let you take a nap. Just call if you need anything ok?" She looked at him for a moment longer, before she stood and walked out of the room. Priestly slowly sunk into the bed and was asleep within minutes.


	6. Chapter 6

Looking at the time Tish figured she should probably check on Priestly. She stood and shook out her arms and legs, trying to expel the bad thoughts and vibes that had been plaguing her since Priestly had told his story. She softly padded along the hardwood floor and peeked into the bedroom, but when she looked inside it was empty. Her heart began to pound as she frantically began searching for him, hoping he didn't run. She breathed a sigh of relief when she found him in the bathroom staring at the mirror. He was standing with his hands on the sinks edge staring intensely at his reflection in the dimly lit bathroom. He was shirtless; colorful bruises on display, but had changed his shorts to the clean ones Trucker had brought in from his car earlier. Her relief was short lived though as she realized that he was obviously deep in thought, having barely recognized her presence.

"Who am I?"

Tish frowned, "What do you mean?"

He asked again, still not looking at her "Who am I?"

Tish bit her lip nervously, "I'm sorry Priestly, I don't understand what you're asking."

When he finally turned to look at her she was taken back by how lost he looked, and when he spoke his voice was raw and hoarse with emotion, "Am I just a regular kid that had two parents? Am I the kid that got beat every night? Am I the druggie in the alley? Am I a murderer? Or am I just a guy that works in a sandwich shop? Who am I Tish?"

In all honestly Tish was wondering that herself. Even though it pained her to even think it, it was hard to look at him the same way she had before. He wasn't just a simple guy with a goofy personality anymore, he was a killer, someone that had seen and done things she couldn't fathom. He was also an addict that could relapse at any moment. He was dangerous, but he was also still her friend, and he needed her right now and dammit she was going to be there for him!

She finally answered in a tone leaving no room for argument, "You're my friend Priestly."

When he didn't respond she continued, "You're funny, and sweet, loud and very annoying" she smiled to show it wasn't a bad thing "You're strong, opinionated, and resilient. You're just Priestly, nothing more nothing less. You're a lot of things Priestly, but none of them are bad."

He didn't respond, just turned back to stare into the mirror as if he was trying to physically see the things Tish spoke about.

Tish sighed, she knew that after bringing up old memories Priestly would be suffering, but she had hoped by some miracle he would have just moved on. Even after the guy died he's still hurting Priestly she thought bitterly. She turned away from the bathroom to leave Priestly alone with his thoughts, but as she left she heard his soft, "Thanks".

A short time later Tish heard Priestly enter the kitchen; turning to greet him she couldn't help the gasp that escaped her. He looked terrible in the sunlight, his torso was every color of the rainbow, and all around his eye was turning a dark blue. Stubble was covering his pale skin, and his eyes were red rimmed and bloodshot. He was leaning heavily against the wall and breathing short, shallow breaths. She couldn't believe how rough he looked; it was like the last few years of his life finally manifested in the last few hours.

Running over to his side she grasped his arm firmly, "Priestly, you ok?" she asked alarmed.

His eyes were clenched tight, "Ya, I'm good, and once the room stops spinning I'll be awesome."

"Why don't you go sit on the couch and I'll make us some lunch?"

He let out a small breath, trying to expel his dizziness and nausea, "That sounds like a good idea." He slowly pushed himself off the wall and out of her grasp and disappeared into the living room.

Tish returned to her task and finished making sandwiches. She entered the living room, finding Priestly sitting on the old worn couch with his head back and his eyes closed. As she set the plates down on the table his eyes snapped open, but he did not move.

She knew she was probably driving him crazy but she couldn't help asking him, "You ok?"

"Yeah, just super" he responded tiredly. It felt like he had ran a marathon. Every part of his body ached and he was beyond emotionally drained. Earlier when he had woken from his nap he was grateful he was alone. He had been having a terrible nightmare, 'except it wasn't a nightmare, it was a memory' his mind whispered to him. Knowing he wouldn't be able to sleep any longer he had gotten up and changed into clean shorts, thank you Trucker, forgoing a shirt since lifting his arms was out of the question for the time being. He went to the bathroom to splash some cold water on his face to try to clear his muddled brain. After he had wiped off his face he looked at himself in the mirror, and was startled to realize he didn't recognize the person staring back at him. Of course he looked the same, but his eyes displayed so much pain and so many emotions he couldn't seem to grasp onto just one. When he heard Tish next to him, his question had just popped out. He didn't expect an answer yet Tish had answered him, and surprisingly enough she said exactly what he needed to hear. Forcing his mind back to the present he lifted his head from the back of the couch and tried to lean forward to grab his lunch.

Tish shouted before he had even moved an inch. "Don't reach for that, you're going to hurt yourself!"

Priestly's eyebrows shot up in surprise before he smiled sheepishly, "Sorry, just not used to having to depend on people."

"Yeah, well get used to it buddy" she grumbled good naturedly before handing him his sandwich. They ate in a comfortable silence, neither feeling that words were necessary.

"That was delicious" Priestly said upon finishing his lunch "I could get used to people feeding me". Tish smiled, pleased that he looked much better after eating. She leaned back on the couch and the two watched the tv for a short time until she broke the silence.

Angling her body towards her friend she asked, "We've never hung out, have we?"

"Nope"

"Well, let's not waste this opportunity, tell me something about yourself."

Priestly tore his attention from the tv to look at her, "What?" he snorted.

Tish rolled her eyes, "Tell me something about you" she repeated slowly, as if he was having trouble understanding English.

"Well, I'm an Aquarius, I enjoy sunsets, long walks on the beach and frisky women" he replied with a cheeky grin.

They stared at each other for a moment before both burst into laughter. She gently whacked him on the arm.

"Don't make me beg, tell me stuff about you. All us girls always talk about everything, but we never get to hear about you. You never share anything Priestly, I want to know."

Priestly stared at her, trying to read her intentions for asking, "I'm assuming you mean things other than what we talked about this morning. Um…" he trailed off trying to think of anything to share. He suddenly snapped his fingers. "I'm an awesome mechanic!"

Happy to see his enthusiasm, her surprised response was a skeptical, "Really?"

"Ya, I can fix pretty much anything with a motor. Let's see what else…I'm the worst shot ever, doesn't matter what it is, I can't hit it." Tish laughed. "I love to surf, and long board."

"I didn't peg you for a surfer"

Priestly chuckled, "Guess I don't fit the profile huh?"

They both laughed before falling into silence before Priestly asked, "What about you? Two way street sister."

"Well let's see, I really do love walks on the beach. Um.. I grew up with my mom and my brother; they're on the other coast. I tried the whole college thing, wasn't for me. And…oh ya! I have a roommate, he's adorable."

Priestly bristled, thinking of Tish living with a guy. "Why haven't I ever seen him? What's he like?"

Tish smothered a smile, "Well his name is Henry and he's awfully shy. He's a vegetarian, very laid back, he's got a tough shell but he's really a softy…." She finally erupted into giggles.

"What? What's so funny?" he demanded.

"Priestly, he's my turtle." Priestly stared at her dumbly before he smiled and laughed.

"You're a jerk, you know that?" he said smiling.

"Payback" she replied still smiling. She reached for the remote. "You want to watch a movie?"

"Sure, just not some chick flick. I have my pride."

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind" she said dryly. She flipped through the channels before finding a movie they both should enjoy. Halfway through the movie Priestly started fidgeting, trying to get comfortable which was proving to be difficult with his injures.

"Tish?"

Priestly's eyebrows shot up when she suddenly jumped up from the couch and shouted irritably, "What! You've been fidgeting forever, kind of hard to watch a movie with you moving all over the damn place. Just get comfy!"

Momentarily stunned by her ability to read minds he just stared at her wide-eyed before doing as he was told. He lifted his feet onto the coffee table in front of him and gingerly lifted his arms, trying to stretch out his back and shoulders without moving his ribs too much. He placed them along the back of the couch and met Tish's expectant gaze.

"You finished?"

Damn, she must really be into this movie. "Uh, ya I'm good now".

She placed her hands on her hips and motioned to the couch. "Well now that you've claimed the entire couch, where am I supposed to sit?"

"I didn't claim the whole couch! There's plenty of room, god I don't have cooties."

"Debatable" she grumbled under her breath, as she sat back down next to him. She sat stiffly on the edge of the cushions, trying to limit her skin-to-skin contact with Priestly.

Priestly just stared at her and shook his head, god she's stubborn.

"Tish?"

"What?" she snapped. She new she was being short with him but she couldn't help it. The more time she spent with him the more she questioned her relationship with Tadd, and her relationship with Priestly. Her and Tadd never just sat and talked, or watched tv together, or laughed at stupid things. She found that the more time she spent with Priestly, the more time she wanted to spend with him. It also wasn't helping that he was sitting a few inches from her, shirtless and looking pretty damn good for someone who got their ass beat a short time ago. It was all very confusing and more than a little unsettling.

"Um…never mind. Sorry" came his quiet reply.

She looked at his somber expression and downcast eyes before grabbing his hand and squeezing gently, "I'm sorry Priestly. I don't know what my problem is. What did you need?"

"I just wanted you to get comfy, I'll move if I'm making you uncomfortable."

She sighed, "No don't move. Your comfort is what's important, and I'm just being stupid." She sat back down on the couch and scooted back, trying to ignore the fact that she fit perfectly into the crook of Priestly's arm. When she finally settled her feet were tucked beneath her and her head was resting on Priestly's shoulder, her soft hair tickling his skin.

Priestly swallowed thickly, trying to form a thought. "You…are you comfy?"

"Yes, now be quiet the movies still on"

Priestly forced his eyes to the television and tried to slow his pounding heart. Tish was so close he could smell her vanilla shampoo. He forced himself to relax and try to finish the movie that he couldn't even remember was about. Not wanting to press his luck, but finding he couldn't resist he dropped his hand down and began playing with her soft hair. He was pleasantly surprised when she didn't reprimand him. Smiling to himself he finally relaxed and watched the movie.

When the movie finally ended Priestly was barely hanging onto consciousness, but was brought back by Tish's hesitant voice.

"Priestly?"

"Ya?" he answered softly, eyes closed.

"How did you get that scar?"

Priestly pried his eyes open to see what Tish was talking about. "Where?"

Her soft hand gently traced a five inch white scar on his right kneecap. Fighting off a shudder at the contact he gently lifted his arm from around Tish and rubbed the scar himself, smiling.

"I was nine. Dad had gone out of town and mom bought me a new skateboard. I hit a curb, embarrassingly enough. I had to have surgery on my knee, but I got to hang out with mom for two whole weeks. No school, no dad, it…it was nice."

Tish smiled; glad to know Priestly at least had some good memories. She moved her hand over his and gently traced the fingers on his right hand.

"What happened to your hand? I know your dad hurt it, but what happened?" She knew she shouldn't be asking these questions but couldn't help being curious. She wanted to know everything about him, the good and the ugly.

Priestly's face darkened, "He stomped on it, with the heel of his boot. Crushed some of the bones. It still works but it gets tight and stiff. Makes it difficult to work sometimes."

She kept the contact with his skin and delicately moved onto another scar on his arm. It was very light, but there were four distinct lines about two inches long directly under his elbow on his forearm. "What about this?"

"Crazy hooker"

Tish's eyes jerked to his to see if he was kidding. His eyes were sparkling.

He chuckled, "I know how that sounds, but I swear to god."

"Let's hear this story"

"I'll never forget this. I was 18 and I was on my way home from work. I'm walking past this alleyway when this crazy lady in like no clothes runs out and tackles me. I was so surprised I didn't even know what to do, but then she just starts clawing at me with her crazy hooker nails. I didn't know what to do, and I didn't want to hit her, then suddenly she just stands up, straightens her skirt and says to me, 'Be careful out here, people are crazy'. I think I laid there in shock for at least five minutes. The most random moment of my life, by far."

Tish was laughing so hard tears were rolling down her face, "Only you Priestly, only you."

"I know, it's like freaky people are drawn to me like a magnet."

Once the laughter had died down Tish leaned over Priestly and gently traced a thick purple scar directly under his left shoulder with her finger. She noticed his goose bumps but didn't comment. The close contact was driving Priestly mad.

"What about this one?"

Blinking a few times trying to force his brain to work he answered quietly, "When my dad found me in the alley, after he kicked me he decided that I wasn't coherent enough. He decided to get my attention with a knife, he…he stabbed me"

Priestly's jaw clenched and unclenched trying to get control of his emotions. When he thought about everything his dad did to him he was filled with hate and unbridled rage. After seeing the muscles in Priestly's jaw jump Tish gently lifted her hand to his face and cupped his jaw, trying to alleviate the tension. Forcing him to look at her she gently traced a small scar on his bottom lip with her thumb. Holding his gaze she whispered, "and this one?"

Tish knew what she was doing and she didn't care. She ignored the small voice in the back of her head, whispering to her about Tadd. She felt closer to Priestly than she ever had with Tadd.

Priestly was trying hard not to hyperventilate…or have a heart attack. Tish was so close he could smell the peppermint on her breath. Thankfully his brain was on autopilot because he sure as hell couldn't make it work. "Beer bottle. I was 15, dad threw a beer bottle at my face, split my lip wide open."

Suddenly, without warning Tish's lips were on his. He reacted instinctively, kissing her back. Without breaking the kiss she moved herself onto his lap and gripped his head with her hands, nimble fingers playing with his earrings. Priestly's hands moved to her hips, gently squeezing. Just as the kiss grew more heated, Priestly suddenly stopped. Breathing heavily he stared at her beautiful face before whispering, "I can't do this right now Tish. I'm sorry."

Jerking back as if she'd been slapped she hastily climbed off him and raked a hand through her hair. "Oh, um. Ya, I'm sorry about that. Don't know what came over me."

"Tish don't apologize, please don't apologize. I want this; you have no idea how bad I want this, but I can't right now. I need to finish telling you everything." It was killing him to say these things, but he knew it was necessary. He needed to finish his story.

She was blushing profusely. "No, I get it. Every things fine. I'm going to get some air, just yell if you need anything," she babbled as she disappeared out the door.

Priestly leaned his head back, closed his eyes, and blew out a breath, one word on repeat in his head. Shit.


	7. Chapter 7

His dad was standing over him, holding him by the collar of his dirty, stained shirt, the fabric biting into the back of his neck. He felt another vicious blow to his already bruised face, but still laid bonelessly on the disgusting pavement, arms scrapping against the filthy gravel. His head lolled to the side, eyes glazed and unfocused. He could taste the copper blood over his teeth, he knew he should defend himself, but also knew there wasn't a point. Maybe it would finally end, maybe he could finally rest. Suddenly a white-hot pain burned into his shoulder. His eyelids flew open as he gasped against the searing pain, the fog around his brain clearing instantly.

"Got your attention now boy" a cruel voice spoke from above him. He felt himself drop to the unforgiving ground, his head smacking down with an audible thunk. Hands encircled his biceps as his father's voice bit into his pain filled mind.

"I'm gonna finish you once and for all boy. I'm gonna kill you Priestly"

"Priestly"

"Priestly!"

Priestly's eyelids snapped open, wide and unseeing. He felt the hands still wrapped around his arms and lashed out blindly, trying to get away from the threat. The hands shook him again, and the room finally began to come into focus.

"Priestly! Wake up!" came an authoritive voice from in front of him.

The bruised man blinked a few more times before he actually saw who was in front of him.

"Trucker?" he panted. His head was pounding, and he was having trouble breathing around the emotional knot stuck in his throat. "What? Where am I?"

Trucker kept his grasp on the young mans arms and stared at him apprehensively.

Trucker had just returned and crossed the threshold into his home when he had heard a strangled gasp from the other room. Upon entering he saw Priestly sitting on the couch, eyes moving frantically under his tightly clenched lids, mouth moving in a silent plea. Trucker grasped the young mans arms and gently shook to wake him, which in hindsight probably wasn't a good idea. When Priestly's eyes had snapped open, Trucker was taken back by their appearance. His pupils were blown and his eyes were wild, frantic, and unseeing. Only his quick reflexes prevented him from getting struck from an arrant right hook headed for his face. He held strongly onto the boy's arms to prevent Priestly from hurting himself, and continued trying to bring him back to reality. Finally Priestly's eyes began to come into focus and he stopped thrashing.

"You're at my house Priestly. You're safe."

"I…what?" He swallowed past the lump in his throat and took in his surroundings. After looking around the room he met Trucker's worried eyes and quickly diverted his gaze, ashamed at his outburst.

"Sorry about that…" he mumbled.

"No apologies Priestly. You ok now?"

"Ya, I'm good. What time is it? Wheres…" he trailed off, hating how weak and desperate his voice sounded.

Trucker looked at his watch with a small smile. "Little after seven. Tish is in the shop with the girls, they're going to come up here after closing."

"Right" Priestly responded under his breath. They were coming over to talk about the attack, wonderful.

Trucker stared at his young friend, easily reading his thoughts. He patted his knee in a silent show of support before standing. "I'm going to get dinner going, let me know if you need anything."

The words bugged Priestly, even though he knew they shouldn't. He forced himself to smile at Trucker, who seemed to accept the smile as a dismissal. Everyone kept saying that, asking if he needed anything. What he needed was to just move on. What he needed was for everyone to stop acting like he was made of glass. He mentally sighed, knowing his thoughts were skewed from everything that had happened recently. What I need is a drink and a good hit.

Priestly froze, eyes wide. Had he really just thought that? His heart started to pound, and his breaths started coming in short gasps, he felt like he was suffocating. Yes it had been hard to get clean, but he hadn't had a thought like that in months. He wasn't sure how long he sat there, fighting an internal battle but it must have been a while because he heard the door slam and laughing female voices drift into the living room. Taking a steadying breath he licked his dry lips and forced his attention to the television, trying to gain some sense of composure before everyone entered the living room.

Jen plopped down on the couch to Priestly's right, Piper to his left.

"Feeling any better?"

Priestly heard Jen's voice but his attention was firmly on Tish. She had walked into the room without a word and sat on the bench under the window, away from everyone, not making eye contact. She was avoiding him, and it was painfully obvious. Priestly sighed and turned his attention to Jen, "Ya, much better. Thanks Jen."

Jen smiled back, pleased.

With a terrible sense of déjà vu, Trucker entered the room, clapped his hands together and spoke. "Ok, let's talk."

"So today's topic of conversation, me getting my ass handed to me."

Piper grimaced next to him, but stayed silent along with everyone else in the room. His eyes were downcast and he was rubbing his right hand, trying to alleviate the phantom pain that had suddenly appeared.

"So…uh." He blew out a breath, why oh why couldn't this couch just eat me alive? "Ok the uh… attack. Um, I got to work and parked, I had opened my door and was reaching for my bag when somebody jerked me out of the car onto the ground. When I sat up he kicked me in the face. Kind of went blurry after that."

He sat still, hoping everyone would just accept what he told them and not ask questions. Ya right…

"Did they say anything to you? Give any reason for the attack?" Trucker asked softly.

Priestly's teeth clenched, his jaw twitching. "Ya, ya he did."

"…and?"

"He said I was… he said I was a freak." Everyone in the room frowned, knowing how Priestly hated that word.

Freak, freak, freak, freak. The words kept repeating in his head, over and over, alternating between his attacker's voice and his fathers. He heard someone clearing their throat loudly, and snapped himself back into the conversation.

"Priestly, who attacked you."

Priestly could feel everyone's eyes on him, but pointedly ignored them. "Don't know."

Trucker's eye's narrowed as he pressed on, "Priestly, who attacked you."

"Truck, you ever heard of Oliver Goldsmith?" All the girls' faces pulled into frowns trying to decipher the seemingly random question. Trucker's face however grew dark.

"Priestly" he said in a stern voice.

"Take that as a yes" he mumbled under his breath.

For the first time since arriving Tish spoke, "Who's Oliver Goldsmith? What does this have to do with anything?"

Trucker waited for Priestly to answer and when it was apparent he wasn't going to Trucker answered for him. "He was an Irish playwright, he has a famous quote. Ask me no questions…"

"…and I'll tell you no lies." Priestly finished. "Don't make me do this Truck."

Trucker moved directly in front of Priestly before asking in a voice that left no room for argument. "Priestly. Who. Attacked. You?"

Priestly met Truckers stern face before sliding his focus to the side onto Tish's face, "I'm so sorry."

She frowned.

In a broken voice he finally answered the question, "Tadd. It was Tadd."

Silence filled the room as everyone absorbed the information they had just received. Trucker's head had dropped forward, chin resting on his chest in a defeated position. Piper and Jen just sat, stunned before turning their attention to their friend sitting in the corner. Tish however was just staring at him, unmoving.

No, no, no, no, "You're lying" she blurted out.

Priestly's heart broke. Shattered. Into a million tiny pieces. He could only listen in horrified silence as Tish continued speaking.

"You're lying. Tadd wouldn't do this, I mean why would he do this?" she shouted, ignoring Priestly's flinch at her harsh words. She wanted to stop talking, but the words just kept coming out of her mouth. Tadd couldn't have done this, right? But in her heart of hearts she knew it was true, and she knew why he did it. She finally recognized what had been there all along, the feeling that was never recognized. She liked Priestly… alot, and apparently Tadd had noticed before she even did. Looking up she saw Trucker's disappointed expression before he turned and left.

Before anyone could even react Priestly had sprung from the couch and disappeared from the room into the spare bedroom. Jen and Piper looked at each other, totally lost in this messy situation. Trucker just shook his head, disappointed in how things had turned out. He stared at Tish with a mix of pity and anger before walking down the hallway to knock on Priestly's door.

"Priestly? Can I come in?"

He was met with silence, so he knocked again. When there again was no answer he twisted the knob and entered the room. Glancing around and finally seeing the flapping curtains on the open window, Trucker sighed.

Priestly was gone.


	8. Chapter 8

"Hey Renaissance man, it's me…Tish. Again. Just wondering if you're ok. We're all getting kind of nervous. Call me. Please." Tish ended the call and frowned at her phone. It had been five days since Priestly had disappeared from Trucker's house, five long days since anyone had seen or heard from him. It was bothering everyone, but it was killing Tish. She knew it was her fault Priestly had ran, and she hated herself because of it. When Priestly had said Tadd had attacked him Tish had been in shock, and denial. Denial because if it was true, that meant Priestly was beaten up because of her. It was her fault Priestly was injured, her fault he had to relive terrible events, everything was her fault. She groaned and dropped her head into her hands.

"Any word yet?" Jen asked from behind the computer. She hated seeing Tish like this, curled up in the corner booth biting nervously at her short nails.

"Nothing. I'm getting scared Jen."

Jen moved away from the computer and leaned across the counter. "Me too. He was pretty upset."

Tish studied the floor, breathing out a sad, "I know".

Jen bit her lip, "You could go to his apartment, see if he's there."

Tish gave her an exasperated look. She had been to Priestly's apartment three times, with no answer each time. She looked at her phone again, no missed calls, no texts. Reaching a decision she slammed her hands down on the tabletop, startling Jen.

"Screw this, I'm going over there. He's going to talk to me whether he wants to or not." She announced in a firm tone. She grabbed her keys from behind the counter and dashed out the front door.

"Call me!" Jen shouted at her retreating friend.

Tish finally arrived at Priestly's apartment, and walked up to the door. She let out a calming breath, knocked, and waited. She knocked again and even shouted but she still heard no movement from inside the apartment. She huffed and tried to peek in the window but the shades were drawn shut. Clenching her fists in annoyance she banged on the door again, "Priestly, I know you're in there. Answer me! I don't care what your problem is, answer this door!"

Still no answer.

She rested her head against the door as frustrated tears formed in her eyes. As a last ditch effort she grabbed the handle and turned it, and to her amazement the door opened. She slowly entered glancing around.

"Priestly? You here?"

She was met with silence. She quietly closed the door behind her and looked around the small apartment. She was standing in the living room, which was furnished with just a couch, tv, and gaming console. A bright surfboard and long board stood erect in the corner. She looked to her right inside the kitchen, which was sparse. Not even a kitchen table. Apparently Priestly didn't usually have a lot of company. She looked to the back wall where two doors stood slightly ajar. She bit her lip, trying to decide if she should look into his bedroom. What the hell, she figured. She was already in his house. She walked to the first door and slowly pushed it open peering inside, trying to let her eyes adjust to the darkness. The bed was unmade and clothes were strewn across the room. A dresser stood in the corner, the top empty and as Tish looked at the floor she could see why. The contents looked like they were thrown off, miscellaneous items scattered everywhere. The only thing that wasn't broken in the entire room was a picture frame. She bent down to pick it up and felt tears prick at the back of her eyes. The picture was of a beautiful blonde woman, smiling in the front yard of a blue house. She was hugging a small child with short brown hair and beautiful green eyes. They looked happy. She gently rubbed her finger over the little boy's smiling face, a ghost of a smile playing on her lips. Remembering why she was even in the house she gently placed the picture on the top of the dresser and exited the room, going to the last door in the house. Placing her hand on the bathroom door she pushed and waited for it to open. When the door softly banged into the wall she felt her heart drop. She had found him.

Walking slowly into the small room she noticed the smashed mirror to her left but ignored it for the time being. She walked to the edge of the tub and looked at the sad sight in front of her. Priestly was lying in the tub, passed out. His hair for once had no color and no product. It was flattened to his head, looking as sad and lifeless as he looked. His shirt was plain black; no witty sayings, no color. His baggy jeans were wrinkled and frayed. He was unrecognizable, just a tragic shadow of the man she knew. The part that really disturbed her though was the half empty bottle of whisky gripped loosely in his right hand.

Was this her fault? Would Priestly have fallen off the wagon if she hadn't said the things she had. She suddenly had a terrifying thought, if Priestly was drinking was he also… no. She couldn't even think it. She leaned down and grasped the bottle trying to pull it out of his grip, but his hand tightened around the neck of the bottle when he felt it move.

She looked to his face, but his eyes were still closed. "Priestly? Can you hear me? Let go."

His eyes blinked blearily, "Tish?"

"Yeah, it's me. Get up, let's get you out of the tub."

"No," came the hard reply.

Tish looked at his face and was stunned to see the anger simmering in the green depths.

Priestly jerked the bottle away from her and glared, "Go away Tish. Shouldn't you be at Tadd's?"

He lifted the bottle to his lips and took a deep swallow.

Tish bit her tongue, not rising to the bait. "No Priestly, I shouldn't be at Tadd's, and if you would get out of the tub and talk to me I could explain everything." Never thought I'd hear myself say that.

Priestly just glared and took another swallow. He knew he was being an ass but really didn't care much at the moment.

Tish rolled here eyes before glaring back at him. He wanted to play, she would play. "You think you're so tough? You're acting like a petulant child. You want to drink fine, but get your ass out of the tub and talk to me like an adult."

Priestly glared at her before slowly standing up, and stepping over the edge of the tub into her personal space. His face was inches away from Tish's and she could smell the whisky on his breath. She suddenly noticed how big Priestly was, and wondered if coming here alone was a bad idea. She slowly started to back out of the small room, frightened eyes locked on Priestly.

He seemed to deflate in front of her eyes, his angry stance morphing into a defeated slump. "Tish" he whispered, "Please don't be scared of me. I'd never hurt you. I'm sorry."

She didn't move, debating whether to stay or go. Concern for her friend won in the end and she walked towards him. Without breaking eye contact she gently grasped the bottle and removed it from his hands with no resistance from Priestly. Priestly just stared at her, hooded eyes displaying his raw emotions.

"Why don't you get cleaned up and we can talk?"

Priestly just nodded.

Tish turned to give him privacy but his voice halted her momentum.

"Promise you'll be here when I get out?" he asked, his voice cracking with emotion.

Tish didn't turn but answered, "I promise."

Tish walked to the kitchen and dumped the rest of the alcohol down the drain before throwing the bottle away. When she opened the trashcan lid she was met with the sight of two more empty liquor bottles. Tish sighed heavily and went to sit down on the living room couch, the only piece of furniture he owned other than the bed.

A short time later Priestly entered the room. Tish was happy to see he looked a lot more like Priestly than earlier. His hair was in bright blue liberty spikes, his black shirt read 'Are you into casual sex? Or should I dress up?' he had shaven and changed into a clean pair of cargo shorts. His black eye was turning a green color and the cut on his eyebrow was almost completely closed. The only thing that didn't look ok were his eyes, which were glassy and unfocused indicating he was still quite intoxicated.

He sat down on the couch next to Tish in a slouched position, hands deeply buried in his pockets. They both sat in silence trying to figure out what to say. Priestly spoke first.

"Did you uh…"

"Ya" she answered, knowing he was asking if he got rid of the alcohol.

"Thanks"

Tish opened her mouth to speak, but Priestly cut her off, knowing what she was about to ask.

"Just the whiskey Tish, nothing else."

Tish gave a sigh of relief. No drugs, thank god. They both continued sitting in an uncomfortable silence, neither one really knowing where to start. Tish finally decided she would take control of the situation.

"Why did you run? How did you run?" she wondered in a hurt tone.

"You know why I left Tish. And I climbed down the porch."

Tish stared at him incredulously, "With your ribs and everything?"

"I didn't say it was easy, or my best idea."

Tish nodded her head. "You scared me."

Priestly's eyes dropped in shame. "Which time? When I left, when I stayed gone, or today?"

"All of it. I was scared Priestly. I was afraid I was never going to see you again, and then when you didn't talk to anybody I thought you were dead." Priestly looked at her with wide eyes. Tish felt the moisture collecting in her eyes but continued on, "I thought I was going to come over here and you would be dead from an overdose. Then I get here and find you alive, thank god, and you scare me again. I was scared for you and of you Priestly." When she finished big, wet tears were falling down her face. Priestly cast his eyes downwards again, feeling like the lowest of the low.

"I'm sorry Tish. I never wanted to scare you; I just couldn't deal with any more crap. I stopped at the liquor store on my way home and wallowed in my misery these past few days. As for today." He paused trying to collect himself. He hated that the alcohol was making him emotional. He started again, "As for today, please don't ever be scared of me Tish. I could never hurt you, I'm not that guy."

Tish wiped at the tears on her cheeks. "I want to believe you Priestly, but do you see the damage you did to your apartment? Your room is trashed, the bathroom mirror shattered. You're out of control."

Priestly sighed, "I know. I need help Tish."

"I know. So what do we do now? About the alcohol?

Priestly stared at her dumbly, "We?"

Tish stared at him before grabbing his hand, "We Priestly."

Priestly stared at their entwined hands, "Um..I dry out, which is going to suck by the way. Then I start at square one, just like before."

"Do you have a sponsor? Somebody I should call?"

Priestly snorted, "No, I don't do the whole meetings/sponsor crap. I got myself into this, I'll get myself out."

"Well I'll be there if you need help. I mean, "she paused, blushing, wondering if she was overstepping boundaries, "only if you want me there."

Priestly smiled warmly at her before carefully adopting a neutral expression, "That'd be great Tish but won't Tadd object?"

"If you weren't being a stubborn ass you would have known days ago, but I dumped Tadd. I don't know what I saw in him in the first place, he was a jerk, and I was just too blind to notice. I'm sorry for what happened Priestly, I felt like if what you were saying was true then it was my fault that everything happened, and I didn't want to be responsible for causing you pain."

Priestly reached over and wiped the tears off her soft face. "It's not your fault Tish, none of this. Tadd was a jerk, and the only person responsible for me, is me. No worries."

The two continued to sit on the couch, hands entwined staring at each other. Priestly slowly lifted his hand to Tish's face and hesitantly leaned forward. Feeling no resistance from Tish he continued forward until his lips were upon hers. The kiss was soft, short, and tender.

"Priestly?"

"Hmm?"

"You taste like whisky."

Priestly abruptly dropped his hand and leaned back to look at her properly, and was relieved to see a smile playing on her lips.

"So?"

"So it's bitter, and I'm a sweet girl."

Priestly cocked an eyebrow and laughed when Tish whacked his arm. Priestly sighed dramatically, "Well since you don't want to have any fun what should we do? 'Cause I've got a few more good hours, then it's going to be downhill from there."

"Well I don't know about you but I'm pretty hungry, do you even have food here?"

"Of course I… ya I have no idea" he finished, smiling goofily at her. She sighed and rolled her eyes. She stood from the couch and pulled the slightly swaying Priestly into the kitchen. She leaned him against the counter and when she was sure he wasn't going to fall over she began going through the cabinets and fridge.

When she opened the fridge, Priestly heard an amazed, "Oh my god".

"What?"

"Is this all kool-aid?" She was staring into the fridge where there were pitchers upon pitchers of colored liquid.

Priestly smiled brightly, "Hell ya! Love me some Kool-aid! So did you find any food, cause now that I'm thinking about it I don't think I've eaten since yesterday morning."

Tish closed the fridge; "You have copious amounts of Kool-aid, some Twinkies, and an expired can of soup."

Priestly whipped open the cabinet, grabbed the Twinkies and downed one before grabbing another and ripping open the wrapper. Tish could only stare as Priestly ate three Twinkies before offering her one.

"God no! Is that seriously your lunch?"

Priestly just shrugged and swallowed down the last of the sugary treat. "Well I feel better."

Tish huffed, "Well I don't."

Priestly turned towards her with dark eyes, and stalked towards her until her back was flush with the wall. Lowering his mouth to her ear he whispered huskily, "I can fix that."

Tish's heart was beating frantically, goose bumps blossoming on her skin. She knew it was the alcohol making him so bold, but that knowledge didn't help her current situation. Knowing it was the right thing to say, the words still felt wrong when she spoke.

"I'm going to have to pass right now." She gently pushed him back, "Come on, we're going out to get something to eat."

She moved away from the wall and Priestly, and smiled when she heard his head thunk against it with a loud groan.

"Come on, I'm starving" she shouted from the front door.

"Ya, ya" he grumbled following her out the door into the unforgiving sunlight.

"Oh my god it's bright out here!" Priestly exclaimed as he slid his aviators over his squinting eyes. After carefully maneuvering down the steps he slid into the passenger seat of Tish's car. When she started the car and the radio turned on Priestly slowly turned towards her and peered at her over the top of his glasses.

"Seriously?"

"I love Maroon 5!"

"Are you trying to kill me? Because if so you're doing a very good job."

Tish huffed, "Well what do you want to listen to?"

Smiling Priestly pulled his iPod from his pocket, "Thought you'd never ask." Soon the opening notes of Into the Valley by The Skids rang out and Priestly leaned back and closed his eyed.

"This is music, now pay attention you could learn something here."

Tish just smiled, rolled down the windows and enjoyed the ride. When Priestly felt the car stop he sat up and opened his eyes. "Why are we here?" he asked Tish bewildered. They were parked by the grill.

"Everyone wanted to know how you're doing, plus I'm on the clock today."

Priestly gulped audibly, "Tish I don't want them to see me like this. Can't you bring me back home or something?"

"Tish leaned over and placed a small kiss on Priestly's lips, "Everything will be fine. Keep your glasses on and try not to talk too much. I'm only on for a few more hours then we can go."

Priestly stared at her, "They're going to ask questions Tish. I can't lie to them."

"I'm not asking you to, just keep your head down and your answers short and simple. You can do this, I know you can."

"Are we going to tell them about…" us? he trailed off unsure how to finish his sentence. Was there an 'us'?

Tish smiled, "Do you want to?"

Priestly felt his heart soar that Tish knew what he was trying to say, and that she felt the same.

"Not right now, if that's cool. There's just a lot going on right now." He hoped he hadn't offended her with his answer, you could never tell with women.

"That's fine, now come on you and I need to eat and I have to work." Tish got out of the car and waited for Priestly before walking towards the front door of the grill. "Here we go," she whispered to Priestly while opening the door.

Jen looked up from her computer and smiled before jumping up and running to Priestly, "You found him, I was so worried!" Priestly found himself in a hug and returned it somewhat awkwardly.

"Ya, sorry about that" Priestly mumbled.

"Priestly? Hey what's up?" Piper asked as she entered from the back room, Trucker right behind her. "It's been a while, everything ok?"

Tish felt Priestly take a subtle step towards her, his arm lightly brushing hers. He was feeling overwhelmed and more than a little nervous. Not that she could blame him, he had after all spent the last five days in a drunken stupor alone in his apartment.

Tish clapped her hands together grabbing everyone's attention, "Do we have any meatball subs left? I'm starving. Priestly, you hungry?" Tish walked behind the counter and looked for the subs.

"Uh ya, I could eat," he said, thankful for Tish's distraction. He walked, relieved, to the back of the shop and slid into the booth farthest from the door and everyone else. His relief was short lived though as Trucker walked over and sat across from Priestly. He felt Tish slide in next to him and casually brush his leg with hers offering support.

Trucker sat silently for a few moments, watching Priestly. He knew something was up, he wasn't stupid. Priestly had disappeared for days, and then magically showed up like nothing was wrong. Plus he was wearing his sunglasses inside and barely speaking, definitely weird.

"So Priestly, where have you been? We were all worried."

Short and simple. "Home, just needed some time to myself. Sorry about skipping out."

"We checked there, you never answered."

"I slept a lot."

"So, any particular reason you're wearing sunglasses inside?"

Priestly faltered slightly, "Uh, bright out today."

Trucker leaned forward, "Why don't you take those off for me?"

Priestly's head snapped up from his lunch as he watched Trucker's eyes narrow. Trucker was calling him out, he couldn't believe it. He wasn't sure what to do, if he kept them on Trucker would know he was hiding something, but if he took them off Trucker would see what he was hiding. Swallowing tightly, he leaned back and removed the gold-rimmed aviators.

Trucker instantly knew. His lips pursed together as he debated what he wanted to say. He didn't want to push Priestly, but he also needed to make sure Priestly wasn't going to continue sliding downhill. Priestly just steadily stared him down in a silent standoff, feeling more and more agitated as the seconds ticked by.

Tish could tell Priestly was getting tense, and it made her nervous. Tish was quickly realizing that an intoxicated Priestly was an emotional and unpredictable Priestly. His emotions seemed out of control, swaying from one extreme to another in the blink of an eye. Since finding him this morning he had already exhibited anger, giddiness, fear, and now growing impatience.

"Trucker…" Tish pleaded softly.

Trucker could see Jen and Piper watching the trio curiously from behind the counter. He leaned back and broke the eye contact, revealing to Priestly that he wasn't going to push it. As a peace offering Trucker even offered, "It is pretty bright out today, might want to put your glasses back on."

Priestly regarded him for a moment before he relaxed his tense posture and slid his glasses back on. "Thanks Truck."

"Do we need to talk about this?" Trucker murmured.

"No, but I'm going to need a few more days off."

Trucker nodded, giving his permission. "Do you have help?"

A small smile appeared on his lips, "Ya, ya I have help."

Trucker nodded again before turning his attention to Tish, "I suppose you'll be needing a few days off also?"

Tish just stared slack jawed, "What? I.."

Trucker held up a hand and interrupted, "Relax, I don't think the other two noticed. Tish why don't you finish your shift, then you two can head out."

Tish smiled and rose from the booth, walking behind the counter to help Jen and Piper. Trucker and Priestly watched her say something and begin to laugh with the girls before Trucker turned towards the younger man, "I'm happy for you Priestly, don't screw this up."

"Never Truck, never."

As her shift came to an end she glanced at Priestly who was sitting with his head down, cradled in his arms. Frowning, she walked over and placed a hand on his back, "You dong ok?"

"I'm not feeling so good Tish," came the muffled response.

"Well come on, let's get you home." She stood back to allow him room to get up and could only watch wearily as he moved. His movements were sluggish and his face was set in a grimace. He slowly stood up; one hand firmly attached to the wall trying to help himself balance. He let out a deep breath and followed Tish out to her car, sliding into the passenger seat and leaning his head back. Tish drove quickly, sparing short nervous glances towards her steadily declining passenger. Upon arriving and walking up the walkway to the apartment Priestly suddenly leaned over the rails and retched into the bushes.

Tish sighed, and so it begins.


	9. Chapter 9

She somehow managed to drag him into the apartment where he quickly disappeared into the bathroom. Not wanting to just listen to him heave she tried to make herself useful by tidying up his apartment. She opened the blinds and windows, and threw out the one can of expired soup. She went to his room and picked up the clothes and everything that had been thrown around. She found clean sheets and remade the bed. Finally looking around and seeing nothing else to occupy herself with she knocked on the bathroom door.

"Priestly, you doing ok?"

"Not really" he croaked back. He felt like he had been sick for days not hours. After throwing up all the alcohol and his lunch he had begun throwing up stomach bile. He leaned forward and placed his forehead on the edge of the cool porcelain bowl. He was shaking, and could feel the beads of sweat collecting on the back of his neck.

"Can I come in?"

"No" came the immediate response. No one should see him like this, especially Tish. He forced himself off the floor and splashed some water in his face, trying to wash away the sweat that had developed on his brow. When he felt like he was at least half way presentable he opened the door and walked past Tish without a word and collapsed onto the couch, throwing his arm across his eyes.

She sat on the edge of the cushions and placed her hand on his leg. "Do you want water? You're probably dehydrated."

"No point, it's just going to come back up anyway," he rasped. "Tish you don't have to be here, I can do this alone. I'm sure you'd rather be somewhere else." The words felt sour on his tongue, but needed to be said.

"There's no where else I'd rather be. Whether you realize it or not you need help Priestly, let me help you."

He bit the inside of his cheek nervously and spoke in an apprehensive voice, "Tish, things might get bad tonight or tomorrow. I just want you to be prepared."

"Worse than right now?"

Priestly removed his arm from his face and forced himself to sit up a little, holding his breath when a wave of nausea hit him. When the feeling finally passed he explained further, "Ya, a lot worse. Just whatever happens, remember you can't call anybody ok?"

Tish nodded, "Priestly what exactly are we talking here?"

"Lots and lots of throwing up, the shakes, sweating. The worst thing though, I might hallucinate. If that happens just please, leave me alone. I don't want to hurt you."

Tish nodded thoughtfully trying not to look horrified at what he just told her. "You'd never hurt me Priestly, remember?"

Priestly answered in a low hesitant voice, "Tish, I might not even know it's you."

Deciding they needed a change in topic she asked, "You want to watch tv or anything?"

Priestly just stared at her with an expression she couldn't quite decipher before he lunged off the couch and disappeared into the bathroom. Tish could only watch helplessly as he disappeared behind the closed door. She went to the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water before finding herself knocking, again, on the bathroom door.

"Priestly, you need to drink something, even if you're going to throw it up." When she received no response she knocked again. "Priestly?" Still receiving no answer she entered the bathroom and found him sprawled on the floor, one arm over the edge of the tub keeping him upright. His eyes were closed and his breath was coming in short pants. He was shivering slightly, and there was something on his lips. Blood? She set down the glass and quickly dropped down next to him grabbing his jaw.

"Where did this blood come from? Talk to me."

His eyes slowly blinked open, "It's fine, everything's fine."

"It doesn't look fine, it looks like you're vomiting blood which is definitely not fine."

"It's fine," he repeated "it's just busted blood vessels in my throat. Everything's fine Tish, remember what we talked about?"

You can't call anybody. "Ya I remember" she resigned.

Knowing he was scaring her Priestly forced himself off the floor and over to the sink. He spit the excess blood from his mouth into the sink, the bright red blood contrasting harshly with the white porcelain before it was washed down the drain. Staring into the broken mirror, gotta fix that, he could see his sallow appearance.

Still bracing himself on the sinks edge he asked Tish, "What time is it?"

She glanced at her wristwatch, "A little after eight."

"If it's ok, I think I'm going to go ahead and get ready for bed."

She softly patted his back, "That's fine, I'm going to go get some food and swing by my house. I'll be back soon."

When Tish returned she listened intently for movement but heard nothing. She set her bag by the couch and put away the groceries before quietly padding into Priestly's room. He was sprawled out face down on top of his comforter snoring softly. He had showered; his natural brown hair sticking up at odd angles, and changed into a pair of sweat pants and a plain white t-shirt. Tish smiled and let herself out of the room before getting herself ready for bed and lying down on the couch. She waited for sleep to come but found her mind would not stop thinking. She couldn't believe how much everything had changed in the last week, from the attack to Priestly's confession to dumping Tadd. She finally felt the tug of unconsciousness and gave into it willingly.

With a gasp she woke from her deep sleep. Taking a minute to realize where she was she finally recognized her surroundings. She looked at her watch, which read 2:45 and sighed. Why am I awake? Her question was answered a minute later when she heard a cry from the bedroom. Throwing off the blanket she ran to his room, ignoring his earlier request to sat away. He was curled up in the fetal position whimpering, trying to protect himself from an invisible intruder.

"No, no…please…"

Tish walked over and laid a hand on his shoulder, trying to calm him. It seemed to work as his body slowly uncurled and his face went slack. She stayed a few more minutes, making sure the nightmare had passed before retreating back to the couch.

She was awoken the second time to a banging sound. Trying to wake up she again looked at her watch, 6:53. The early morning sun was peeking through the blinds giving the room a warm, muted glow. Rubbing her eyes she walked to Priestly's room to see what was happening now. Entering the room she realized he was not anymore in the bed but sitting huddled in the corner, banging his head repeatedly against the wall. Shocked she ran over.

"Priestly, stop that!"

Instead of acknowledging her presence he sucked in a wheezing breath and seemed to try to burrow into the wall. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, please don't hurt me, I'm sorry." He sounded so frightened and weak. Tish not knowing what to do simply backed away slowly and left the room. After closing his door she leaned back against it, trying to make sense of what was happening. Coming to the conclusion it was a hallucination she took in a deep shaky breath and walked to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee. After downing her second cup of coffee she decided to check on Priestly again, hoping he would be coherent. Reaching his door she heard the low sounds of a tv and entered to find him propped against the headboard.

"Hey Tish" came an exhausted voice from the bed.

Walking over to get a better look at him she could see he was shaking violently and sweating profusely. She walked to the window and opened it to hoping the light breeze would help before disappearing to the kitchen and returning with a glass of water. She climbed onto the bed next to her ailing friend and tried to pass him the glass of water.

"You need to drink this."

"I know," he responded not taking his eyes off the television "but I don't even think I can hold it." He hated feeling like this, pathetic, weak, a burden. He couldn't understand why Tish was even here even though he was grateful.

"You can do it, and if you spill it it's just water."

Priestly grabbed the glass, fully concentrating on trying to still his trembling hand before forcing himself to drink the clear liquid. Seeing he was finished Tish took the glass back and watched him carefully, hoping he could keep the water down. Her hopes were shattered a few minutes later when Priestly jumped from the bed and ran out of the room. She waited patiently for him to return wondering if he was going to be in there for very long. About 30 minutes later he entered the room and sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the wall with a far off expression. Tish crawled over to him and sat next to him, legs dangling off the high bed.

"I was going to ask you if you want breakfast but I can see now that's probably a no."

Priestly let out a humorless laugh, "Definitely a no, why don't you go eat though? I'm sure you're hungry."

Tish regarded him carefully, "Ok, but call if you need anything."

Priestly offered a small smile, "I will."

After finishing her eggs she put the plate into the sink and walked back to the living room trying to figure out what to do now. As soon as she sat on the couch a terrified scream sounded from the bedroom. Leaping off the furniture she sprinted into the room only to find Priestly trying to wrestle himself out of his shirt.

Alarmed she shouted to get his attention. "Priestly! What's wrong? What's happening?"

Finally freeing himself from the offending object he threw it across the room and began frantically swiping at his arms. "You don't see them? God they're everywhere!"

Seeing nothing on him Tish ran over to him and grabbed his face, forcing his attention to her. "There's nothing there. You need to calm down."

The hysterical man tried to jerk his head out of her grasp, "How can you say that! They're everywhere, they're biting me!"

"What is, what's biting you?"

"The spiders they're everywhere!" He shouted, eyes jerking back and forth still seeing the invisible insects.

"Focus Priestly, there's nothing there. Look at me, there's nothing there." She was so frightened, she had no idea it was going to be this bad. All she could do was try to get him focused, try to get him to come back to reality. As her arms began to shake from fighting Priestly he finally relaxed into her grasp. Their eyes locked before Priestly removed himself from her hands and dropped his gaze to the floor, ashamed.

"Sorry"

"Don't apologize, you good now?" she panted, worn out.

"I think so," he whispered before climbing back into his bed exhausted and ashamed. Tish took the hint and excused herself from his room.

The next two days passed without incident.


	10. Chapter 10

Thankful that the worst was over Tish popped her head into Priestly's room.

"You awake?" she whispered to the silent lump underneath the blanket.

A muffled groggy voice answered her, "Barely, what's up?"

"Trucker called, he needs me to come in today. Are you going to be ok?" she asked softly.

Priestly rolled onto his back and sat up before rubbing his eyes trying to remove the sleepiness. "Ya that's fine, no worries." After watching Tish disappear from the doorframe he rose from the bed and lifted his arms over his head, tying to release the knots in his shoulders. He shuffled to his front door to see her out. Noticing the bag over her left shoulder he frowned internally. Tish was taking her things with her; she wasn't going to stay anymore. The thought saddened him, it had been nice having company even though he couldn't really enjoy it these past few days.

Noticing where his eyes were locked Tish explained. "Thought I should probably go home, seeing as how you're doing better now."

"Ya" He felt like he should say more, even beg her to stay but couldn't find the words. "Have a good day at work."

"Thanks, you have a good day too. I'll talk to you later", and with that she walked to her can and drove away.

Priestly watched her car disappear before turning around and looking at his home. It suddenly seemed dark, and cold. He walked to the couch and sat down staring at the blank, black screen of the tv. Thinking of the past few days he couldn't help but feel like he and Tish were farther apart than they ever were. She had confirmed there was an us in the car that day, yet she had just left without so much as a hug. Groaning loudly he rose and walked to the shower to get ready to face the long, lonely day.

Hearing the bell above the door jingle Trucker looked up from his large pot of soup he was making for the day. "Hey Tish, thanks for coming in today. Jen's sick and Piper had to do something at Julia's school."

Tish placed her purse under the counter and wrapped her apron around her waist, "No problem Trucker, to be honest I could use the break."

Trucker grimaced, "That bad huh? He doing better now?"

"Yes, finally."

Trucker nodded, "Good, good." Seeing Tish's hesitant expression Trucker took the initiative to find out what was wrong. "And how are you and Priestly doing?"

"Fine"

Knowing she was lying he pushed, "Tish…"

She sighed and hopped up on the counter. "I don't know, it was just hard to see him like that. I mean I spent all this time with him, but we didn't even really talk or anything. I just feel like I don't even know him. It's hard to just ignore everything he told us."

Trucker smiled and leaned against the counter opposite Tish, "He doesn't want you to ignore it, he wants you to accept him in spite of it. Don't bail now Tish, you've been through the worst with him. It will only get better."

"Promise?"

Trucker patted her knee, "Promise."

Finally getting home after the long day Tish walked into her house and went straight to bed. Waking up the next morning she felt very refreshed. It felt good to be back in her home, with her belongings. She made herself breakfast and took a long shower after a morning jog. Seeing it was already after noon she tried calling Priestly but he didn't answer. Frowning at her phone she set it down and worked on her neglected puzzle sitting on the coffee table. Finding herself unable to concentrate she called Priestly's phone again and smiled when she heard his message, 'How do you keep an idiot in suspense? Leave a message and I'll get back to you...' Feeling ridiculous but wanting to make sure he was ok Tish grabbed her keys and drove to Priestly's apartment. Knocking on the front door she waited for an answer but one never came. She tried the door handle, which was unlocked and let herself in.

"Priestly?"

She bit her lip nervously as she checked every room, but he was nowhere to be found. She looked around, trying to figure out where he could have gone when she noticed the missing surfboard and longboard. Smiling she ran out to her car and drove to the beach.

She pulled into a parking space and walked out onto the beach. She slid off her sandals and buried her toes in the sand, reveling as the hot granules massaged her feet. She looked up and down the beach but saw no one. She slowly walked to the waters edge and looked out onto the water before spotting him. He was sitting on his board, waiting for the next wave. Seeing the swell rapidly approaching him he turned the board and began to paddle before jumping up and riding the now white capped wave. She had to admit, he was a pretty good surfer. When she saw him look in her direction she waved. She watched him paddle towards to shore and walk out of the water, surfboard clutched tightly under his arm. Tish watched him appreciatively as he worked his way to her, she couldn't help herself from subconsciously licking her lips, he looked delicious. Dressed in just a pair of skull and crossbones covered board shorts he looked positively sinful with the water drops dripping down his chest and stomach.

When he finally reached Tish he grinned, "Are you checking me out?"

Tish scoffed, "No!"

Priestly continued grinning, "Right… Well just in case you were I'll cool you off." Tish screamed as Priestly whipped his head back and forth flinging the cool ocean water off his soaked brown hair and onto her tan skin.

"Jerk!"

"Ya, ya, so I've heard. So what are you doing here?"

"Looking for you, what are you doing here?"

Priestly sat down in the sand resting his arms on his knees staring at the breaking waves, "Just needed some time with the waves. Sometimes they have the best answers to the most important questions."

Tish joined him in the sand, "Sounds pretty deep, did you find the answers you're looking for?"

Priestly continued staring out across the vast ocean before turning his light green eyes to Tish, "Ya, ya I did."

Tish smiled back and sat with the surfer as they watched the orange sun disappear into the deep blue depths. Noticing her shiver he stood up and offered her his hand, "Come on, it's getting chilly."

Tish grasped the offered hand and pulled herself up, wiping the sand off the back of her capri pants. "You want to get something to eat?"

"Sure, you want to meet up later or what?" he asked as he worked his up the beach towards a lone backpack and longboard.

"Ya, I'll pick you up in an hour?"

"Sounds good." After slipping on his backpack he stared at her somewhat awkwardly, wanting to kiss her but not knowing where they stood. Sensing his apprehension Tish leaned forward and planted a quick kiss on his lips. She was met with an incredible smile before he walked to the sidewalk, dropped his board and skated away.

Exactly an hour later, she was so proud of herself, Tish pulled up and honked. Grabbing her iPod she switched her music before he came out. A second later Priestly flung open the door and bounded down the steps before getting in. His hair was styled in a bright green mohawk, his white and green shirt read 'I used to be a lifeguard but some blue kid got me fired', and he had on black shorts and sneakers.

"So where we going? Nice music by the way, glad to see you learned something."

Tish rolled her eyes as she pulled away from the curb, "Well I didn't want your ears to bleed all over the seat."

Priestly snickered and took the opportunity to admire his date for the evening. Her chestnut hair was curled and she was wearing a simple loose fitting white top and a short pair of khaki shorts. How did I get so lucky?

"Are you checking me out?" Tish asked smiling, thinking back to the beach.

Priestly scoffed, "No!"

They laughed all the way to the restaurant. After an enjoyable meal they walked down the sidewalk towards the car hand in hand. Tish subtly looked at Priestly's profile as they passed under a streetlight, and was pleased to see he looked relaxed. He was starting to look like the laid back guy she knew, not the broken soul that appeared a week ago. As they passed a noisy bar a very large, heavy set and obviously intoxicated men stumbled out.

"Hey baby, why don't you ditch the peacock and hang out with a real man."

Tish felt Priestly tense beside her and whispered softly, "Leave it, come on."

They continued walking away from the bar when Priestly was suddenly grabbed from behind and slammed into the unforgiving exterior of the building.

"Tish run!" he screamed trying to fight off the much larger drunken man. Frantically trying to see where she was he didn't see the punch aimed at his face. He felt the cut on his eyebrow split back open as blood spilled into his vision. Gritting his teeth he delivered a vicious kick to the man's groin before he felt himself drop to the ground.

"Priestly get in!" Priestly looked up to see Tish waving him over from her car. Turning towards the moaning man he kicked him for good measure and ran to the car.

Tish quickly drove away, "Are you alright?" she anxiously asked.

"You have any napkins or anything?" he hastily inquired, hand pushed against his busted eyebrow.

"In the glove box, where'd he get you?"

"My eyebrow… again. It was almost healed too," he grumbled.

As soon as the car lurched to a stop Tish and Priestly walked into the house and into the bathroom. Mirror's fixed she realized. She pushed Priestly down onto the toilet seat, grabbed the first aid kit under the sink and started cleaning the bleeding gash.

"I can do that Tish."

Tish ignored him, "So can I. I can't believe that guy had to ruin our night."

"I still had a good night." Priestly admitted softly.

Tish finished putting the band-aid over the cut, "Me too."

They walked into the living room, both unsure what exactly was supposed to happen next. Tish studied her sandals, while Priestly inspected a spot on the wall. Priestly finally cleared his throat, "I guess you should probably get home, it's getting pretty late."

Tish swallowed thickly, "Right, ya."

Priestly followed her slowly to the door, "So I guess…" he was cut off by Tish's lips attacking his. Reacting instantly he wrapped his arms around her and picked her up before moving them to lean against the wall. Tish squeezed her legs tighter around his torso as she pulled his shirt over his head.

"Bedroom…now" she gasped.

Priestly obeyed slowly working towards the bedroom, articles of clothing disappearing along the way.

Dropping them both onto the bed Priestly had to ask, "You sure?"

"I've never been more sure of anything," she whispered huskily before losing herself completely.

Tish blinked sleepily and squinted against the morning light filtering through the blinds. She smiled lazily as she felt a soft hand gently rubbing her back. Lifting her head off the hard chest she met Priestly's relaxed gaze.

"Good morning" he whispered, kissing her softly.

She smiled warmly, reveling in his warmth. Her hand snaked out from under the covers and traced the band-aid over his eyebrow. "People better stop hurting you, your face is too pretty to get beat up."

He laughed, "Well thank you, I do pride myself in being pretty."

They lay in a peaceful silence for a while before Tish spoke again. "Last night was…"

Priestly's smiled, "Ya"

"If I had known it would have been like that I would have bought a ticket to this ride a long time ago."

Priestly chuckled, "Ditto, Trucker didn't know what he was talking about." They were broken out of their intimate embrace by the sound of Priestly's phone ringing from the nightstand. Leaning over he grabbed it and flipped it open, "Hello?"

"Hey Priestly, it's Piper. How are you doing?"

"Pretty damn good if I do say so myself, what's up?"

"Jen and I have been pretty busy today, and Trucker has this thing with Zo. Can you come in, I have to call Tish too."

"Uh yeah, no problem."

"I'll be there too!" Tish yelled.

Priestly's eyes grew huge as he stared at her mischievous grin, listening to the stunned silence on the other end of the phone.

"Oh! Um, ya great see you soon bye." He could hear a muffled 'oh my god!' before the line went dead.

Priestly just stared at his phone before turning to his bedmate. "You know they're having a field day right now right?"

"Yup" she smiled.

"You are evil!" he said before tickling her relentlessly.

"Stop!" she gasped before running out of the room and into the bathroom to shower, Priestly hot on her heels.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm kind of sad this is over so I've decided to do a sequel! It's kind of going to be Tish and Priestly dealing with random events and life in general. It's up now, titled Flicker

The sun shined through the windows of the Beach City Grill, filtering around the posters, trees, and miscellaneous objects set in and attached to the glass. Customers were filtering in and out, sparing time out of their hectic schedules to buy subs by the inch from the quirky shop. Jen, Tish, and Piper worked around each other, never getting in each other's way. It was almost like a dance that after this long together was known by heart. When the rush finally died down Jen resumed her seat at her computer, Piper walked over to touch up the wall mural and Tish leaned against the register popping her gum as she twirled her chestnut red hair around her long fingers.

Tish watched Jen type to Fuzzy, smiling when Jen quietly laughed and blushed. Tish pushed herself away from the register and leaned down on the counter beside Jen. "Is that a blush I see on those cheeks Jen? Is Fuzzy being naughty?"

Jen scoffed before quickly minimizing the chat window, "No! He was just telling me he's taking me out tonight."

Tish's smile grew as she watched Jen squirm under her knowing smirk, "Right, of course."

"Has he plucked your banjo yet?" Piper shouted from beside the wall. The mural was almost done, she had added everyone from Trucker and Zo's commitment ceremony and was finally putting on the finishing touches.

Jen balked at Piper's boldness, "What…I…"

Tish's smile envied the cheshire cat, "I'll take that as a yes!"

Piper smiled at her two friends, she had never seen the two so content. She heard the phone ring and Tish answer before calling her. "Piper, it's Noah." Piper mock glared at Tish before grabbing the phone. Tish wasn't going to let her off that easy she caught her attention and started making kissy faces and noises.

"Glad to see everyone so hard at work, no rest for the weary huh?" The girls all turned towards Trucker's voice. He walked out of the back, a stack of papers in his hand before he set them down on a booth, slid on his reading glasses and began thumbing through them.

"What about you Trucker? Haven't you been at Zo's all morning?" Tish ribbed. Trucker shook his head, trying to hide his smile that always appeared when talking about Zo.

"Glass houses Tish, what about you and Priestly? I'm going to have to get a squirt bottle to keep you two focused."

Tish scoffed and brought her hands to her hips, "I resent that! I am a professional!"

Priestly chose that moment to appear in the front doorway, aviators in place and a lollipop hanging out of his mouth. "A professional what?" Tish shot him a withering look as he grinned and threw his arms out to the side in a 'gotta love me' gesture.

"That's what we're trying to figure out, Priestly. Any suggestions?" Trucker asked jokingly.

Priestly's grin turned devilish, matching his bright red hair, "Anything I say is definitely not work appropriate Truck."

Trucker dropped his head into his hands, "You kids are killing me!"

Priestly chuckled as he walked behind the counter, tied on his apron and got to work chopping vegetables for today's soup. Tish watched him for a few minutes before smirking internally. She slowly undid her apron and announced to the grill that she was going on break. As she walked by Priestly she let her fingers gently trace his lower back and give a subtle tug on his yellow studded belt.

Priestly shivered at the contact and watched her disappear into the backroom before trying to focus on his task, which was proving to be very difficult. He continuously stole glances towards the back for the next minute. Knowing he should stop before he cuts off a finger he slowly set the knife down, removed his apron and looked to the others, "I have to uh…I need to…" he stuttered gesturing to the back room. Realizing his mind wasn't going to some up with an excuse anytime soon he abandon his efforts and ran to the back after Tish.

Everyone smiled and tried to ignore what was obviously happening when they heard a high pitch squeal. Trucker shot out of the booth and ran behind the counter, "Where is the squirt bottle! Help me before it's too late!" Jen and Piper burst into giggles; it was just another day at the Beach City Grill.


End file.
